Many final drives of vehicles used in earth-moving, industrial and agricultural applications utilize hydraulic motors, such as bent axis motors and the like, to drive track assemblies or wheels. Such vehicles include, but are not limited to, track-type tractors, wheel loaders, excavators, articulated trucks and the like. With such final drive assemblies, a variety of components require fluid for cooling, lubrication, activation, and the like.
For example, conventional drive assemblies include several hydraulic, lubrication, and cooling lines. These fluid passageways cross one another in and around the final drive and typically each requires an independent pump to generate a fluid flow.
A conventional arrangement of fluid flow is found in U.S. Pat. No. 7,819,214 in which several fluid passageways (150, 160, and 180) supply fluid in and around the in-wheel motor. While this conventional method of fluid delivery may simplify the task of providing acceptable fluid flow (pressure and/or volume) for each of the fluid dependent subsystems, it greatly complicates the issue of routing these fluid passageways within the confines of the in-wheel motor and it increases the probability that a fluid passageway will fail.
Thus, there exists a need for an improved, compact, and cost-effective final drive in such vehicles.